Rep. of Ireland 3 - 1 Andorra
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
Ireland made it two wins from two in their Euro 2012 qualifying group
on Tuesday night as they defeated Andorra 3-1 at the Aviva Stadium to
rise to the summit of Group B.
Giovanni Trapattoni's men were always expected to win the game and with goals from Kevin Kilbane, Kevin Doyle and Robbie Keane they did just that – but it was far from the foregone conclusion everyone expected.
Results from earlier in the day in Group B had gone Ireland's way. Macedonia and Armenia drew, while Russia were beaten at home by Slovakia, leaving Ireland knowing that a win would be good enough to see them top Group B.
Kevin Kilbane opened the scoring for Ireland and marked his 106th cap for his country by scoring the first ever competitive goal at the Aviva in the 15th minute.
A corner delivered in by Liam Lawrence on the left-wing was met by the head of Kilbane, leaving Josep Gomes in the Andorra goal with no chance.
However despite Ireland's dominance in the opening 20 minutes, there was a scare in the 16th minute when Sergi Moreno's harmless looking shot from 30-yards was spilled by Shay Given leading to a corner for Andorra.
Doyle added Ireland's second four minutes before the break with a wonder strike from 25-yards. Good work from Lawrence on the right to dispossess Morneo led to the ball landing at the feet of Doyle and he unleashed a thunderous shot with his left foot which sailed into the roof of the net.
Andorra, ranked 201 in the FIFA world rankings, have only three competitive wins to their name but they shocked the crowd at the Aviva when they pulled a goal back in the 44th minute through Christian Martinez.
Sloppy defending by Sean St.Ledger, who was appealing for offside and turned his back on the ball, allowed Martinez to lose the defender and when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box he blasted his shot into the top corner of Given's net.
Captain Robbie Keane settled any nerves Ireland had going out into the second-half when he put the game beyond doubt with a well worked goal in the 54th minute. A neat one-two between McGeady and Doyle, leaded to a trough ball to Keane which he latched on to and finished with precision.
Ireland dominated the game after they got the third goal and should have had a penalty in the 66th minute after Doyle was manhandled to the ground by Andorra's Jose Silva, but Cypriot referee Leontios Trattou waved play on.
The win marks a perfect start for Ireland in their bid to qualify for Euro 2012 in Poland and the Ukraine but sterner tests lie ahead. Next month Trapattoni's men will face crunch games against group rivals Russia and Slovakia.
Ireland: Given; O'Shea [Kelly 74], St Ledger, Dunne. Kilbane; Lawrence, Whelan [Gibson 60], Green, McGeady; Keane, Doyle [Keogh 82]
Unused Substitutes: Westwood, Fahey, Cunningham, Long
Andorra: Jose Antonio; Cristian, Lima, Da Silva, Bernaus; Escura, Vieira, Ayala [Andorra 70]; Martinez, Pujol [Sonejee 86], Moreno [Jimenez 58]; Gomez
Unused Substitutes: Pol, Rubio, Mejias, Lorenzo
Referee: Leontios Trattou [Cyprus]
Attendance: 40,283
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Aiden McGeady
Giovanni Trapattoni's men were always expected to win the game and with goals from Kevin Kilbane, Kevin Doyle and Robbie Keane they did just that – but it was far from the foregone conclusion everyone expected.
Results from earlier in the day in Group B had gone Ireland's way. Macedonia and Armenia drew, while Russia were beaten at home by Slovakia, leaving Ireland knowing that a win would be good enough to see them top Group B.
Kevin Kilbane opened the scoring for Ireland and marked his 106th cap for his country by scoring the first ever competitive goal at the Aviva in the 15th minute.
A corner delivered in by Liam Lawrence on the left-wing was met by the head of Kilbane, leaving Josep Gomes in the Andorra goal with no chance.
However despite Ireland's dominance in the opening 20 minutes, there was a scare in the 16th minute when Sergi Moreno's harmless looking shot from 30-yards was spilled by Shay Given leading to a corner for Andorra.
Doyle added Ireland's second four minutes before the break with a wonder strike from 25-yards. Good work from Lawrence on the right to dispossess Morneo led to the ball landing at the feet of Doyle and he unleashed a thunderous shot with his left foot which sailed into the roof of the net.
Andorra, ranked 201 in the FIFA world rankings, have only three competitive wins to their name but they shocked the crowd at the Aviva when they pulled a goal back in the 44th minute through Christian Martinez.
Sloppy defending by Sean St.Ledger, who was appealing for offside and turned his back on the ball, allowed Martinez to lose the defender and when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box he blasted his shot into the top corner of Given's net.
Captain Robbie Keane settled any nerves Ireland had going out into the second-half when he put the game beyond doubt with a well worked goal in the 54th minute. A neat one-two between McGeady and Doyle, leaded to a trough ball to Keane which he latched on to and finished with precision.
Ireland dominated the game after they got the third goal and should have had a penalty in the 66th minute after Doyle was manhandled to the ground by Andorra's Jose Silva, but Cypriot referee Leontios Trattou waved play on.
The win marks a perfect start for Ireland in their bid to qualify for Euro 2012 in Poland and the Ukraine but sterner tests lie ahead. Next month Trapattoni's men will face crunch games against group rivals Russia and Slovakia.
Ireland: Given; O'Shea [Kelly 74], St Ledger, Dunne. Kilbane; Lawrence, Whelan [Gibson 60], Green, McGeady; Keane, Doyle [Keogh 82]
Unused Substitutes: Westwood, Fahey, Cunningham, Long
Andorra: Jose Antonio; Cristian, Lima, Da Silva, Bernaus; Escura, Vieira, Ayala [Andorra 70]; Martinez, Pujol [Sonejee 86], Moreno [Jimenez 58]; Gomez
Unused Substitutes: Pol, Rubio, Mejias, Lorenzo
Referee: Leontios Trattou [Cyprus]
Attendance: 40,283
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Aiden McGeady
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